What Elon Mask project is able to change our world?

Elon Mask revolutionizes space travel, electric vehicles and solar energy. But you probably did not know that he is funding a $ 15 million project that helps children in Tanzania learn to read and write. The project was named Global Learning XPRIZE. This is the last attempt of the XPRIZE Foundation to revolutionize the new regions of the planet. In the past, they were developing a series of carrier rockets, and now also plan to fly to the moon.

Solving the problem of illiteracy

The Global Learning XPRIZE project is truly humane. Its goal is to find a way to teach illiterate children to read, write and read independently, because on a global scale, about 260 million children do not have access to primary or secondary education.

Elon Mask's project is aimed at solving this problem. In Tanzania, children from 150 villages are expected to distribute 8,000 tablets with software developed by various teams of participants in the XPRIZE project, which will help children (aged 7 to 10 years) learn independently without additional formal education.

Final stages of the project

June 20 representatives of XPRIZE announced the selection of 11 semifinalists from around the world, which will move to the next stage of the project. Their number decreased from 198 participants in 2014. The semifinalists have one month to complete their open source software. In September, five finalists will be selected, who will receive 1 million dollars each to continue tests in Tanzania.

"The goal of the project is to help children reach the highest possible level of education, but at the initial stage, teach them to read," said Matt Keller, senior director of Global Learning XPRIZE.

Features of the project

For more than 18 months, children will use educational resources on the tablets. Before and after the training, they will have to pass tests aimed at evaluating their reading, writing and arithmetic. The team that will see the most noticeable progress in the knowledge of children - in comparison with the control group - will win $ 10 million.

EGRA and EGMA systems will be used to assess children's knowledge. To participate in the project, children were selected who live very far from the school, which makes their education practically impossible. "All of them are mostly illiterate and live in very remote places," Keller said.

The software of each finalist will be provided to 600 children. Thus, a total of 3,000 students will be involved in the project. Another 1000 children will form a control group, which will not have access to software. This will help to understand how their educational development will change in 18 months.

Teams of participants used different methods for teaching children. Some of them have developed software that uses games and stories to help children learn, while others have opted for computer training.

Members of the finalists will not have access to the villages where children live. Monitoring will be carried out by representatives of XPRIZE, UNESCO and the UN World Food Program. The capacity of the tablets will be provided by 150 solar charging stations (one for each village) designed for a period of up to five years. After the project is completed, the tablets will remain with the children, and XPRIZE representatives hope that they will be able to continue using them for many years.

"It is very important to note that this is not a sustainable project," Keller said. - Currently, there is no hardware that would make it stable. However, XPRIZE plans to stimulate market forces in such a way that as a result there are devices that will be sustainable in the long term. "

Elon's Gift Mask

All the money for the project is allocated to Mask, who was born in South Africa. According to Keller, this is his biggest philanthropic gift to date. So far, the participation of the Mask in the project is rather passive, but it is assumed that at later stages it will begin to pay more attention to it.

Why technology, not schools?

It would seem that it is a bit strange to give such big money to teams when they could be invested, for example, in local schools. But the idea is to provide a more sustainable base that will help children in developing countries gain access to education, and XPRIZE believes this is the best method.

"We are looking for ways to increase the number of children who can access quality education," Keller said. "A donation of $ 15 million to build schools (many of which, for various reasons, do not cope with their task) will never lead to the results that are needed now."

Representatives of XPRIZE are convinced that technology is the only way to ensure that someday every child on Earth will have access to world-class education.

If the project is successful, the software can be applied in other regions. For example, it can be translated into Arabic to help refugees living in Syria. It can also help children in other countries who have access to education, but are lagging behind in school.